


The Shark Who Swims Through Fire

by littleinternets



Category: Free!
Genre: AU where the two are police officers and Rin often stays in Sousuke's apartment, Fluff, M/M, Sousuke writes poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 08:02:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5777764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleinternets/pseuds/littleinternets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin stays over at Sousuke's and discovers a hidden book of poetry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Shark Who Swims Through Fire

One of Sousuke’s favourite pastimes was watching Rin concentrate. It didn’t matter what the task was, he loved to see how Rin would shut off the rest of the world while he focused on the job at hand. He would always start the same way; putting his hair in a low ponytail with one of the many hair ties that were forever on his wrists. He would reach his hands up, scooping the maroon wisps together behind his ears, giving Sousuke a full view of the nape of his neck as he did so. There would always be a number of shorter strands that fell from the hair-tie’s grip to frame his angular face, a sight so lovely it would cause Sousuke to groan inwardly every time he saw it. The effortlessness of Rin’s beauty was ridiculous, almost infuriating. From here, Rin would seat himself on the closest item, whether it be a chair, bench or sometimes just the floor, and furrow his brow until his eyebrows nearly met. The image of this beautiful man huddled over, totally absorbed in his work was absolutely captivating. Today was no different. Rin had dragged one of the barstools into the kitchen with him as he cooked tomorrow’s lunch for the two of them. The rich smell of tomatoes pervaded the air, causing Sousuke’s stomach to growl, despite just having finished dinner. He stood in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning on the panelling with a raised arm, simply watching.

Rin hummed to himself as he peered at the stove once more, kicking his legs under the stool. He pushed back his hair impatiently, the heat from the boiling pot causing sweat to run down his forehead. Frowning, he removed the lid to give the sauce one final stir before turning the stove off. With a long yawn, Rin stretched his arms behind him, reaching his fists upwards. Sousuke’s eyes scanned over the toned muscles, noting the way they cast shadows in the dim lighting of the kitchen. Smiling to himself, he called out softly to his boyfriend. “Bedtime, hey?”  
Rin’s head whipped around at the sound, his flushed face wet with condensation from the pot. It took an enormous amount of willpower for Sousuke to stop himself from jumping on him right then and there, but he held himself in place. Rin smiled at him, pushing the loose strands of hair behind his ears. “I’m just about to finish.” Pulling himself off of the stool, Rin moved around the kitchen slowly, enjoying the feeling of Sousuke watching him. After pushing the barstool into its original position, he turned to face Sousuke, smirking at the stony-faced man. “You go ahead, I’ll be right there,” he said, stifling a yawn. “I’ll just clean up these dishes and then I’m done.”  
Sousuke allowed himself a small smile; he couldn't help it when he was faced with Rin in this state. So determined to finish a task, never one to half-ass anything. He nodded silently and plodded towards the bedroom, listening to Rin running the tap behind him.

Rin propped himself against the edge of the kitchen bench, feeling a heavy sigh escape him. His eyelids were feeling heavier with every passing moment. He looked towards the cookbook splayed open on his right, the only thing left to put away, after which he could happily fall asleep knowing that the kitchen was properly tidy. He picked it up lazily and stepped towards the shelf that held all Sousuke’s cookbooks and health magazines. As he went to place it in between the volumes, it seemed to catch on something. Frowning, he pushed it harder, but the book refused to slide in smoothly. Rin grumbled to himself as he leant down, prying apart the books. A small brown notebook had been placed in amidst the taller volumes. Rin had never seen it before, even in the countless times he’d stayed in Sousuke’s apartment. He reached for it, placing the cookbook in its place as he did so. The notebook was about the size of his hand, leather-bound and fairly worn. He stood up and leant against the bench behind him, curiosity winning out against any sort of guilt he felt from prying. Opening the hard cover, he gazed upon the contents of the notebook. His eyes widened as he realised what he was looking at. These were poems. Poems written in Sousuke’s handwriting. Oh my god.

He could barely contain himself. Rin flipped through the pages, scanning over the loopy shapes of Sousuke’s words, taking in everything. They were extremely descriptive, and full of flowery language Rin had never heard from Sousuke’s own mouth. Some of the poems were paired with illustrations. Drawings. Sousuke had been writing poems and _drawing_. Rin knew he was grinning to himself as he poured over the notebook. Each one had been titled and dated. Oh, this was too precious. Who knew that the stone-faced Sousuke had such a side to him? He paused when he reached the last page of the notebook, containing a poem entitled _The Shark Who Swims Through Fire._

>   
>  _A scorching flame that never stills,_  
>  _A searing passion that could kill_  
>  _An untameable beast._
> 
> _Teeth that cut and eyes that burn_  
>  _Why is it that I forever yearn_  
>  _To capture this monster released?_
> 
> _And yet_
> 
> _This creature has such gentleness;_  
>  _An almost angelic elegance._  
>  _I watch him with fixated eyes_
> 
> _As he swims through fire, unaware_  
>  _Of his beauty. I do not care_  
>  _That he will bring forth my demise._  
> 

Below the poem was a small sketch of a grinning shark, swimming in a sea of fire. Rin’s eyes widened as something dawned on him. Could this possibly be… about him?  
“Hey, Rin, you coming or what?”  
Sousuke’s voice from the bedroom caused Rin to start out of his trance. He instinctively put the notebook behind his back as he called back. “Y-yeah.” 

Quickly shoving the book into the waistband of his pants, he walked down the hallway, feeling the book against his hip with every step. He stepped into the room as casually as he could manage, playing up a yawn. Sousuke was propped up against the pillows, his naked torso illuminated by the lamp beside him. He smiled sleepily at Rin, his teal eyes glimmering in the light. “How damn clean does that kitchen need to be before you can pull yourself away from it?”  
Rin chuckled as he pulled his shirt over his head. “Cleaner than you leave it, that’s for sure.”  
He could feel Sousuke rolling his eyes despite facing away from him. As he changed into his pyjama bottoms, Rin carefully held the notebook in front of him so Sousuke wouldn’t see. He made sure to hold his arm behind him as he made his way to the bed. Sousuke held out his arms and Rin grinned, sliding next to him beneath the covers, feeling the heat radiate from his boyfriend’s muscular body. Sousuke sighed contently as Rin wriggled next to him, discreetly pushing the notebook beneath his own pillow. Resting his head on Sousuke’s chest, he resisted the urge to giggle, still revelling in this new discovery. Sousuke absently ran his fingers through Rin’s hair, his breath tickling his ear. “What are you smirking about, huh?” he murmured, planting a kiss on the man’s head. Rin resisted the desire to laugh.

“I was just thinking of this dream I had last night,” he sighed, hoping his voice was keeping its normalcy. “It was pretty weird, and I was wondering if I’ll dream it again tonight.”  
“What was the dream about?”  
“Well, there was a shark,” he began. He had to be smart about this. “A really angry shark with a fiery temper. It was swimming.”  
“Uh huh,” Sousuke mumbled. Had he tensed up or was Rin imagining things? He continued.  
“But it was kind of strange. It wasn’t swimming in water, it was swimming in fire, if that makes sense? And it was so elegant…” He looked up at Sousuke to deliver the fishing blow. “It had an almost, _angelic_ elegance, you could say.”  
“Rin,” Sousuke gulped. “Did you-”  
“You’re such a great poet, Sou,” Rin winked at him, loving the panicked and embarrassed expression on his boyfriend’s face.  
“Although if I’m honest, some of them were pretty shit.”

Sousuke’s cheeks reddened,  
“You truly have a way with words, Sou,” Rin cackled as Sousuke turned away from him. He pressed his body heavily into the mattress, looking as if he wanted to disappear within them. “Get to sleep,” Sousuke grumbled, his voice muffled by his pillow. “We’re on duty tomorrow.”  
Rin wiped a tear from his eye and breathed in deeply, his laughter finally subsiding. He leant over the black-haired man, casting a shadow over his scowling face. “I’m only teasing,” he whispered, planting a tender kiss on his cheek. “I really thought that it was beautiful.” Rin smiled, watching as his boyfriend visibly blushed.  
“I love your poems, Sousuke.”  
Lying down again, Rin curled up against his heated back, feeling Sousuke slowly relax beside him until his breathing was even and slow. It didn’t take long for Rin to follow him into deep slumber, dreaming of an ocean of flames.


End file.
